the seven virtues [tom riddle]

epilogue

EPILOGUE

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May 2nd, 1998

Tongues of flames licked at the grey, crumbled newspaper, swirling around its edges and turning it into meaningless ash. The ink on the title became distorted, letters scattering and contracting until it was almost unreadable, and the moving picture showcased on the front page disintegrated into nothingness. A poke aggravated the fire, and the servant blew at the flames, trying to have them burn faster. Still, she caught sight of the scribbled words on the front of The Daily Prophet, and held her breath.

"DUMBLEDORE: DAFT OR DANGEROUS?"

The maiden's cheeks grew ruddy from horror, and she pushed the article further into the flames, trying to get rid of anything that might aggravate the man that stood at the desk. Her hands quivered with trepidation, but she did not ask nor speak out of turn. At a pivoting point, the wizarding world pawned between the slender fingers of two strong opposing sorcerers, and the smear campaigns ran rampant. It had been months since their realm had known peace, with multiple conflicts arising at high points of tension around England, but the question of who would come into power remained unanswered.

Those who supported Album Dumbledore were known for their righteous ways, achievers of the high end that believed in tradition and conservation of the old ways. In more ways than one, they quarreled that prudence was a virtue, and that magic itself should remain sacred and pure. Supported by the Potter family, Dumbledore gained a reputation in the Ministry quite easily, though skepticism of his morals was not unknown.

The other side, the one that thrived through a call for power, for action—some questioned their intentions and said that they had been born out of malice. Most pureblood families united under one symbol, a political party that had been, in the beginning, representative of an ideology that requested for the banishing of all members of the Ministry that had been involved in the 1945 battle of Hogwarts. They had caused unrest amongst the upper classes, to the point of civil movements that, starting the 80's, broke into full-fledged fights.

Some had died. Many had died. But the losses were balanced against each other, and through decades of fighting had wearied the nation, some argued that it would all come to an end. Still, when Dumbledore had started mouthing of dark magic, of a demon lurking under the boards of Hogwarts that would bring doom, and pointed an accusing finger at the Death Eaters, some had started questioning his sanity. They did not know of the sly ways that had been used, of the propaganda, the scheming—those were all kept under hushed words of devotion, all to one man.

The servant's eyes shifted to the figure that stood at the desk. The man, draped in obscure, long robes, gazed out of the window with calculative eyes. The atrocities he had committed in his past were only known amongst his inner circles, and the ones that he continued to do were cloaked with noble intentions. As such, though today marked an important day in the future of the wizarding world, few knew of the planned attack on Hogwarts.